Common Sowthistle

Sonchus oleraceus L.

Sonchus oleraceus (common sowthistle) is a species of annualherb in the family Asteraceae. It has a self-supporting growth form. It is native to Africa, Asia, Europe, Cerrado, Caatinga, and Mata Atlântica. It has simple, broad leaves. Flowers are visited by Phyciodes mylitta. It is a photoautotroph. Individuals can grow to 0.79 m.

Definition: Of plant duration, a plant whose life span ends within one year after germination, e.g. a winter annual germinating in the autumn and flowering in the spring (esp. in Mediterranean climates), approximately synonymous to therophyte, c.f. biennial, ephemeral, perennial, c.f. also of flowering with respect to architecture, hapaxanthic, monocarpic, pleonanthic.